Board Vacancy

There are no Board vacancies at this time. If interested in future vacancies, licensees should contact APTA of MD for the appropriate paperwork to be eligible to serve on the Board. Each physical therapist member: (1) Shall have at least 5 years experience in physical therapy administration, education, practice, or research immediately before appointment; and (2) Shall be engaged in the profession of physical therapy in this State. The licensed physical therapist assistant member: (1) Shall have 5 years of experience in the practice of limited physical therapy; and (2) shall be engaged in the profession of limited physical therapy in this state.

Anonymous Complaints

The Board often receives anonymous complaints against anonymous practices or licensees. These anonymous complaints outline egregious violations of the Practice Act but do not specify the name of the practice, its address, or the names of the licensees. The Board is powerless to investigate such cases. These complaints are of no value unless the name of the licensees who are possibly violating the Practice Act and the names of the complainants are included in the submission of the complaint.

The Board reminds its licensees that COMAR 10.38.02 F Code of Ethics states, “The physical therapist and physical therapist assistant shall report to the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners all information that indicates a person is allegedly performing, or aiding and abetting, the illegal or unsafe practice of physical therapy.”

Please comply with the law. Report perceived violations of the Practice Act in the form of a detailed complaint to this Board. The complaint form appears on the website.

BEFORE YOU HIRE, CHECK OUT THE APPLICANT

The Board has received some complaints of imposters or impersonators of physical therapists. These people submit resumes for physical therapy positions, and the credentials are false. Always check with the Board before hiring a physical therapist or a physical therapist assistant. The Board’s website lists all active licensees as well as any disciplinary actions. Or, a telephone call to the office will give you the information that a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant has an active license.

The Maryland Practice Act (13-101) defines "taking and documenting measurements" with the "practice of limited physical therapy" allowed by the physical therapist assistant. The Board of Physical Therapy Examiners voted on April 21, 2009 to clarify that manual muscle testing and assigning a numerical or letter grade is included in "taking and documenting measurements".

This Board action validates that a manual muscle test "grade" is defined in objective and measurable terms. Therefore, when the PT A performs a manual muscle test (MMT) as an objective measure of patient status they may document the MMT grade and record their findings in the objective section of the physical therapy medical record. The Board emphasizes the following key points:

Only the physical therapist can interpret the results of a manual muscle test.

Physical therapist assistants may not perform manual muscle tests as part of a physical therapy evaluation.

The physical therapist assistant should only perform and document the results of a manual muscle test to measure the patient's response to treatment.

The supervising physical therapist and physical therapist assistant should use consistent MMT grading systems and objective measures when assigning the grade.

News brief highlights key issues in addressing disparities and case examples from the field. Work by organizations from around the country is highlighted, including Adventist healthcare's Center on Health Disparities.

Helpful information and guidance about fasting diabetes management in Arabic and several South Asian languages.

Health Care Language Services: Implementation Guide

The Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is pleased to announce the release of the "Health Care Language Services Implementation Guide," an interactive Web-based learning tool designed to help health care professionals plan, implement, and evaluate language access services (LAS) within their organizations. The Guide is available at no cost to health care providers at thinkculturalhealth.org, or directly at https://hclsig.thinkculturalhealth.org/user/home.rails

Developed with input from a panel of experts in the field of LAS and through rigorous field research, the Guide is patient-centered and family focused, and provides practical step-by-step advice on how to implement LAS to include translation and interpretation services. The Guide features an interactive content presentation, multimedia-based case studies that underscore the importance of LAS, and interactive worksheets to help with planning, implementation, and evaluation of LAS in your organization. The Guide is supported by a rich collection of resources, implementation tips, and examples of forms and documents.

We are confident that you and your colleagues will benefit from the Guide's recommendations and resources, and we are excited to offer another tool to assist you in you efforts to provide quality health care to limited English proficient populations. To receive more information, please send an email to: HCLS-IG@thinkculturalhealth.org.

Name Approval for Physical Therapy Professional Service Corporations

A "professional corporation" is one organized for the purpose of rendering a professional service. i.e. "a service that may lawfully be rendered only by a person licensed Of otherwise authorized by a licensing unit in the Slate to render the service .... " Md. Code Ann .. Corps, & Ass'ns, ~ 5-101(g)(l) (2007 Repl. Vol.). Effective October 1, 2007, this definition has been expanded to include services provided by a physical therapist. § 5-] 01 (g)(2). Thus, a corporation of physical therapists may elect to be a professional corporation provided the corporation complies with the applicable provisions of the law, § 5-112.

The corporate name of a professional corporation runs include (1) the word "chartered"; (2) the abbreviation "chtd."; (3) the words "professional association": (3) the abbreviation "P. A."; (4) the words "professional corporation"; or (5) the abbreviation ''P.C,''. * I-50l(f). The name of a professional corporation may not use any other word, 'abbreviation, affix, or prefix that indicates it is a corporation. § 1-503(c), The name must also meet the requirements set forth in §§ 1-504 and 1- 505.

Further, § 5-107(B) requires the name of a Maryland professional corporation (or' a foreign professional corporation authorized to transact business in the State) to contain the surname of one or more stockholders of the corporation unless the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (the "Board") and Maryland APTA approves the name and issues a certificate for its use. III addition, the Board's certificate must be attached to the ankles of incorporation document in which the name is adopted. § 5-107(B )(3). Thus, for example, if Jane Doe, P.T. elects to incorporate her professional physical therapy practice with the name "USA Physical Therapy:' she must submit the name for approval and a certificate. However, if she chooses the name "Doe Physical Therapy, P.C.," she does not need to submit the name for Board and Maryland APTA approval

In order to obtain a certificate of authorization for use of a corporate name, the physical therapist must file an application with the Board which contains the name to be adopted by the corporation and the reasons for adopting the name. § 5-107(8)(3)(a). In determining the appropriateness of the proposed corporate name, the Board and Maryland APTA will consider the established ethical standards, rules and regulations of the profession. § 5-107{B)(3)(c)(2). To obtain an application, please contact the Board's staff at (410) 764-4752.